Newbie Hi

Hi everyone.I'm new to the forum and pipes.I tried a pipe a number of months ago at a party and I'm now off to buy my own, alas I can't find the pipe owner so I'm on my own. I have been putting it off as I know there is a skill and an art and without anyone to coach me there is going to be plenty of trial and error, I suspect more error. I know I will eventually work out my preferred methods, unless I give up before I finally get it. I have been doing a lot of research and every time I think I have it worked out, I find contradictory information. I hope to get my first pipe in the next 3 or 4 days.

I have a number of questions that I hope you don't mind me asking. I have done some searches here and wasn't able to find the answers, although I'm certain they must have been asked numerous times.

I'm feeling confident about packing a full pipe, but I have read you need 'break the pipe in by slowly increasing the amount in the pipe. Is this recommended? If so is packing the same?How often do you give the pipe a thorough clean, every bowl or partial bowl, or after 4 or 5?

Hi everyone.I'm new to the forum and pipes.I tried a pipe a number of months ago at a party and I'm now off to buy my own, alas I can't find the pipe owner so I'm on my own. I have been putting it off as I know there is a skill and an art and without anyone to coach me there is going to be plenty of trial and error, I suspect more error. I know I will eventually work out my preferred methods, unless I give up before I finally get it. I have been doing a lot of research and every time I think I have it worked out, I find contradictory information. I hope to get my first pipe in the next 3 or 4 days.

I have a number of questions that I hope you don't mind me asking. I have done some searches here and wasn't able to find the answers, although I'm certain they must have been asked numerous times.

I'm feeling confident about packing a full pipe, but I have read you need 'break the pipe in by slowly increasing the amount in the pipe. Is this recommended? If so is packing the same?How often do you give the pipe a thorough clean, every bowl or partial bowl, or after 4 or 5?

Thanks in advance.

I think most here would agree that

1) pipe tobacco generally should be drier than you think;2) pipe tobacco should be packed looser than you think -- if it isn't so loose as to fall out when turned upside down, it's good for at least a prelight! (you can always gently tamp it, it's a bigger production to reloosen!)

As for breaking in a briar, I admit I don't know if it's necessary to do the 1/2 bowl, 2/3, 3/4, full routine, but I've usually done it that way just to be on the safe side.

How thorough do you mean? I run 1-3 pipe cleaners through after the pipe is cooled off myself, usually remembers to swipe the bowl. That's about as far as I go for briars, other than cleaning the mouthpiece 'when needed' (every few months at most, but then I rotate my pipes around). I do clean the bowl of my meersham after about every 10 bowls with a little Bacardi 161, but you don't really want a meesham to have any cake.

Welcome aboard, and you came to the right place for info. The search engine here is pretty much broken, but if you poke around enough you will find that most of your questions have been answered on this board 10-15 times over.

If I had it all to do again, I would have started out with a Missouri Meerschaum Diplomat corncob pipe & a copy of John Patton's Corn Cob Primer printed out for me to read over and over while sitting on the pot. Cobs smoke drier, there's very little break-in period and they are not only extremely affordable but also very forgiving. Smoking a cob or two for a while will also give you some time to find the right briar pipe.

On another note, I want to know where Dr. T. gets his Bacardi 161, my Bacardi only goes up to 151.

Welcome aboard, and you came to the right place for info. The search engine here is pretty much broken, but if you poke around enough you will find that most of your questions have been answered on this board 10-15 times over.

If I had it all to do again, I would have started out with a Missouri Meerschaum Diplomat corncob pipe & a copy of John Patton's Corn Cob Primer printed out for me to read over and over while sitting on the pot. Cobs smoke drier, there's very little break-in period and they are not only extremely affordable but also very forgiving. Smoking a cob or two for a while will also give you some time to find the right briar pipe.

On another note, I want to know where Dr. T. gets his Bacardi 161, my Bacardi only goes up to 151.

let's call that a typo and leave it at that . . . or you can add a dash of Everclear 190 to top off your bottle

Welcome to BoB and enjoy your time here. Ask all the questions you want. As per the break in technique...I fill them and smoke them and have a good cake building in each pipe. I have not done the 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 technique and have no intent on ever doing it. Different strokes. I do also, like DrumsandBeer, think a corn cob pipe is a darn good way to start out. A cob will out perform a lot of briars in the long run. I give friends corn cobs to get them going with pipe smoking and they all seem to enjoy them.

Hello there and welcome! This is indeed a fantastic place for information. Also, lots of friendly people to help one out. It's crazy how much I've learned here in just a couple of weeks. I wish you pleasant studying.

Hey Guys,Thanks for the welcome and the advice. I have ordered my Cob tonight (thanks DrumsAndBeer), it came with filtered bits, so I ordered non filtered as well (and some filters). Do you guys recommend filtered or non filtered? Do you start with filtered and migrate to non filtered? I know it's a personal choice, but I'm just wondering what the 'norm' is around here.

I live in Aus, where all tobacco products are hated by the government. Could anyone recommend any of the following tobacco suitable for a noob from the link below. Yeah I know the prices are high 50g is about 1.8oz I will be importing all my pipes from the US at least. As I can't post an external link yet put the w's in front of

tobaccoblends.com.au/en/5-pipe-tobacco

Once I get into it a bit more I may try and import tobacco the government will sting me pretty hard though.

Hey Guys,Thanks for the welcome and the advice. I have ordered my Cob tonight (thanks DrumsAndBeer), it came with filtered bits, so I ordered non filtered as well (and some filters). Do you guys recommend filtered or non filtered? Do you start with filtered and migrate to non filtered? I know it's a personal choice, but I'm just wondering what the 'norm' is around here.

I live in Aus, where all tobacco products are hated by the government. Could anyone recommend any of the following tobacco suitable for a noob from the link below. Yeah I know the prices are high 50g is about 1.8oz I will be importing all my pipes from the US at least. As I can't post an external link yet put the w's in front of

tobaccoblends.com.au/en/5-pipe-tobacco

Once I get into it a bit more I may try and import tobacco the government will sting me pretty hard though.

Perhaps some one who enjoys aromatics can recommend one to you, but the Premium Aromatics from McClelland are supposed to be good. In that case I'd say Mellow Mack might be decent, I haven't had it, though I have smoked all the above blends.

New to the pipe or not, they are all good smokes and Frog Morton is a good place to start with Latakia mixtures, but I like Blue Mountain over FM.

Also read about these recommendations and other blends. - http://www.tobaccoreviews.com/index.cfm

Welcome aboard, bluey. Pardon my ignorance, but is "AUS" Australia or Austria? I need to know if my vulgarity should be sexual or scatological in nature when speaking to you. Here's a good discussion on breaking in new pipes: http://www.brothersofbriar.com/t16193-break-in-ritualsIf you can't see that link, (sometimes they don't show up for new accounts) it's entitled "Break-in Rituals" under Pipe Techniques, page 2, about halfway down the page. It's a pretty good example of what you can expect as a member of this forum. Ask a question, get several different answers, a few jokes, plenty of digression, Kyle taking a jab, Monbla bragging about how old he is, and by the end of it, you're more confused than when you started. The short answer? Pipe break-in is largely a myth. Yes, it will taste different when new, so just smoke the new out of it.Enjoy.-G

Welcome aboard, bluey. Pardon my ignorance, but is "AUS" Australia or Austria? I need to know if my vulgarity should be sexual or scatological in nature when speaking to you. Here's a good discussion on breaking in new pipes: http://www.brothersofbriar.com/t16193-break-in-ritualsIf you can't see that link, (sometimes they don't show up for new accounts) it's entitled "Break-in Rituals" under Pipe Techniques, page 2, about halfway down the page. It's a pretty good example of what you can expect as a member of this forum. Ask a question, get several different answers, a few jokes, plenty of digression, Kyle taking a jab, Monbla bragging about how old he is, and by the end of it, you're more confused than when you started. The short answer? Pipe break-in is largely a myth. Yes, it will taste different when new, so just smoke the new out of it.Enjoy.-G

Welcome amigo! As you can see there are some differences of opinion, but by browsing these forums, you should be able to find a method that works and is comfortable for you. That said, I will leave you with the humorous scatological stylings of brother George

I agree with George on break in. I am a new smoker, a recipient of Kaiser's corn cobs. Once I had ordered my new briars, I simply smoked them. Full bowl, full bore (I am a former cigar smoker so I smoke them hot). Ofter several smokes each pipe became a better smoke.

I would also recommend estate pipes. I love mine! A fabulous way to collect several very nice pipes at lower cost. And there is just something cool about older construction.